


Not Just a Costume

by Megatraven, projectml



Series: Project: Bug-A-Boo [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9238049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megatraven/pseuds/Megatraven, https://archiveofourown.org/users/projectml/pseuds/projectml
Summary: When an akuma begins to transform people into creatures based on their costumes and puts people not dressed up to sleep, Marinette must figure out a way to get away from her group of friends to save the day.





	

As far as Halloweens go, this one was quite uneventful, Marinette had decided. Adrien was banned from going out during it, Alya had to watch her siblings, and Nino… well, quite frankly, she had no clue where he was. They were supposed to meet up with Kim and Alix in front of the school, but so far she was the only one there. And it was already thirty minutes past the time they had decided on.

Sighing, Marinette sat down on the steps and pulled her phone out. There were no calls or texts she’d missed, so while she sat there, she decided to take a few pictures of herself. When she grew bored of that, she sent a couple to Alya.

**[To: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

**[From: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

[Sent at 9:10 PM] _How d’ya think my costume came out?_

**[To: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

**[From: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

[Sent at 9:14 PM] _G i r l!!! u look amazin but rnt vamps sposed 2 be invisible 2 cameras?_

[Sent at 9:16 PM] _nd wheres the other 3? Werent u meeting awhile ago?_

**[To: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

**[From: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

[Sent at 9:19 PM] _You’ve got me there, haha. Cameras and mirrors, the one flaw in my plan! And yea but none of them are here…_

[Sent at 9:26 PM] _Actually I don’t see like… anyone??? I julfkedvkj_

**[To: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

**[From: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

[Sent at 9:27 PM] _Mari???? Girl u ok??_

[Sent at 9:53 PM] _Shit Mari theres an akuma pls respond nd tell me ur ok girl_

[Sent at 10:00 PM] _Mari…?_

* * *

 

Laughter pierced the calm of the night, followed by a few shouts and screams. Well, okay, Nino wouldn’t exactly describe it as laughter, considering it sounded like cackling. But he didn’t think anything of it. It was Halloween, after all, and while not that big a day, many people still got involved. His guess on the reason for screaming would be that some kid dared another to go into someplace ‘haunted’ or abandoned. Kind of like Kim and Alix had done to each other the year prior. Didn’t really explain the cackling, but he shrugged it off. He was already late for meeting Marinette and the others, so he focused on moving forward.

His costume had been a pretty quick one to put together—a sheet over the head, some chains from old clothes hanging off him, and he’d made a pretty swell ghost, if he did say so himself. And, of course, he had to add a personal touch—he had black headphones underneath that flipped into speakers, perfect for playing some spooky music to accompany him and his group.

While he skimmed through his playlist, he failed to realize how close the laughter had gotten until it was right behind him. The sudden laughter in his ear made him jump and spin around. A glare found home on his face, but when he looked up at the figure before him, it melted into a look of fear. In front of him stood—floated?—a witch 223.52 centimeters tall. Her blue eyes gleamed and crinkled as she laughed again, pointing her wand at him. Nino stepped back, eyes wide in horror, but he couldn’t escape the words that flowed from her, nor the magic that flowed from the wand.

He closed his eyes when the magic washed over him, and he felt himself begin to change. He found he could no longer feel the sheet draped over his head, nor could he feel anything physically. All the warmth left his body, and it suddenly became hard to breathe, as if it were something he shouldn’t be able to do at all. All the weight he’d been burdened with seemingly faded away, leaving him a cold and weightless being, somehow still accompanied by the music that had been playing prior to being affected by the akuma’s magic.

The world was darkness for him as he found himself unable to open his eyes. He could hear a soft voice now, and he strained his ears to hear the rest of what it spoke.

“Nobody will _ever_ mock my makeup and wardrobe skills again. The Sand Witch will make all costumes come to life,” she muttered. With a pause to look back at Nino, she grinned wickedly and continued, “Happy Halloween.”

As soon as the akuma finished speaking, Nino felt some kind of breeze pass him by and—did it just go _through_ him? He finally opened his eyes and found himself alone, but more than that… he found that he was transparent. His clothes were his normal clothes, aside from being see-through as well. The chains he’d initially hung on his costume were larger than before, and rattled with an intensity they previously lacked. If Nino possessed the ability to hyperventilate just then, that is exactly what he’d be doing. As it were, he found that _being turned into an actual ghost_ made it hard to breathe because it was in fact something the dead did not do. But habits die hard, he supposed, because he couldn’t stop trying to catch a breath that wasn’t able to be caught by him anymore. In his panic, he noticed his iPhone and headphones were both missing from his ensemble, but the music accompanying him didn’t stop. Completely unsure of what to do, and not seeing a certain spotted heroine swinging around, Nino decided to follow through with his meet-up. It was slow progress, learning how to move properly (“Why did my foot just go through the ro—oh you’ve got to be kidding me! I’m floating now!?”), but eventually he got the hang of it enough to get to the school.

As he approached the front steps, he saw Marinette looking down at her phone. No sign of Alix and Kim just yet, and he hoped they’d been spared the akuma’s wrath as Marinette had been. He paused when he saw her glance around, but she quickly returned her attention to her phone. Taking a deep breath—nope, nevermind, he still couldn’t seem to get one of those—he meandered over to her.

“Hey, Mari,” he said with uncertainty, moving to set his hand on her shoulder. When it went through, he took note of the drastic change in music around him and saw her drop her phone as she whipped around, jumping away from his touch—or lack thereof. She took in the sight of him with wide eyes, only stopping when she squeezed them shut and screamed. Nino was somewhat glad he was a ghost just then. It meant his ears didn’t have to suffer through her shriek. Then again, if he weren’t one in the first place, she wouldn’t have screamed.

He held up his hands in a calming gesture and said, “Mari, Mari, it’s just me, dude! I’m still me.” His voice quieted on the second statement, as if he were saying it more to himself than to her. If he were to say that he was scared, it would be a heavy understatement. He was alive. _Was._ Now he wasn’t. Forgive him if he wanted to convince himself that he was still the same as before.

Marinette’s scream died off shortly after, and he watched as she peeked at him once again. His arms dropped to his sides and he offered her a smile, although he was pretty sure it came off as a sad one. He saw her reach out a hand, hesitant, and waved it through him. She jumped back and met his eyes once more.

“N—Nino?” she asked, looking him up and down once more. He nodded as her gaze returned and met his own. “Are you—what, uh… wh—what happened?”

His fingers ran through his hair and trailed down the back of his neck in a nervous way before he said, “I’m still reeling from it, dude. I was makin’ my way over here and I heard this really weird laughing. But ya know, it’s Halloween, so I didn’t really think about it. I was sifting through my music an—”

Two shouts that sounded somewhat like battle cries pierced the air, interrupting the rest of Nino’s statement. Him and Marinette turned to see the source of the noise, Marinette tense and Nino surprised. Both were about to scream and run when they saw a goblin and an orc racing towards them, but stopped when they heard what they were screaming.

“Marinette, I’ll protect you!” the orc shouted, voice reminiscent of Kim, if a bit more gravelly.

“ _No_ , blockhead, _I’ll_ save Mari!” the goblin countered, voice shrill but still very Alix in nature.

Both barrelled forward, Alix’s short but quick strides matching Kim’s long but slower strides. As they grew closer, Marinette seemed to realize they would run right over them—or, rather, her—and immediately shouted, “Stop! It’s just Nino!”

The two faltered, and skidded to a stop right before them, each individual staring at the others of their party, unsure of what to say.

* * *

 

**[To: fave Gremlin]**

**[From: muscles 4 days]**

[Sent at 8:15 PM] _Yo Alix u rdy 4 hangin w/ mari and nino ?_

**[To: muscles 4 days]**

**[From: fave Gremlin]**

[Sent at 8:15 PM] _obv, when’re u leavin?_

**[To: fave Gremlin]**

**[From: muscles 4 days]**

[Sent at 8:16 PM] _uhh idk probs n 2 minuts_

[Sent at 8:17 PM] _do u want 2 meet up ?_

[Sent at 8:18 PM] _if u do im like right down the street_

**[To: muscles 4 days]**

**[From: fave Gremlin]**

[Sent at 8:20 PM] _if ur still around meet me at the corner, k?_

[Sent at 8:25 PM] _I didn’t see u so i headed out, what did u dress up as?_

**[To: fave Gremlin]**

**[From: muscles 4 days]**

[Sent at 8:27 PM] _o sorry im an orc hbu ?_

**[To: muscles 4 days]**

**[From: fave Gremlin]**

[Sent at 8:28 PM] _i think i might see u, turn around and wave. Im dresed up as a goblin, way bettr than an orc tbh_

As soon as Alix sent her text out, the large person she’d spotted ahead checked their own phone, and did as she had requested in her text message. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, and she jogged until she caught up with him.

“Hey there, shortstack! Better than an orc, huh?” he said teasingly, eyes alight with mischief and a grin on his face. He stooped down and bumped his shoulder to hers, turning around so they could keep walking.

She smirked and crossed her arms, walking alongside him. “Oh yeah, totally. A goblin could beat an orc any day. They’ve got wit and speed on their side, what’s an orc got?”

“Uh, brute strength. Thick skin good to take a beating? Come on, you don’t really think goblins are cooler than orcs, right? They’re so tiny and they’ve got giant ears!” He pauses for a moment, as if considering something, before saying, “You know, that’s actually the perfect costume for you! It fits your description to a T!”

Alix threw her fist into his shoulder, earning a small yelp from him. He rubbed the point of impact and scowled, making her chuckle.

“That’s what ya get for being a giant dick! And that, by the way, would have been the perfect costume for you,” she said, bursting into laughter and running ahead.

Kim chased after her, and they traded their insults back and forth until neither could speak through their laughter. Eventually, they slowed to a stop to catch their breath, leaning on each other for support.

“Hey, I think—I think we’re late for meeting Mari and Nino,” Kim commented. Alix checked her phone for the time and swore. “I’ll take that as a ‘yep’ then. We should get over there now, huh?”

She nodded, and the two took a minute longer before adjusting their direction and heading off to meet their friends. Just as they had begun to make their way to the school, though, they heard the crying of children. Exchanging a look, they agreed that their friends would understand, and they quickly made their way over to the noise.

The scene before them was an odd one, to say the least. A giant witch stood before a few younger kids and their guardian, and it was obvious by the look of the witch that she was an akuma. She was cackling about something, and moved her wand in a threatening manner, making the children cry louder.

On impulse, Kim dashed forward and threw himself between the akuma and the other civilians in an attempt to spare them from whatever she planned to do. He vaguely noted that Alix screamed his name—his real one—when the magic of the akuma washed over him. He could feel his bones changing, reshaping, and he howled in pain as his mass increased. His every muscle burned and screamed in protest, but even through the pain, he could feel power course through him until it was all he felt. He heaved a sigh of relief when the pain receded, and the first thing he really noticed was that he was taller than before. Where he had been taller than Alix prior to the metamorphosis, he now towered above her. He wasn’t even going to think about how short the people behind him were.

The witch scowled when she saw what she’d created, seemingly unpleased with what had happened. “You—you—you got in my way! How dare you!”

With a flick of her wrist, her magic made him fall to the side, and she said, “Stay out of my way, I won’t let you stop me from showing these little _brats_ who’s boss!”

She raised her wand again, repeating what she had done before. This time, Alix rushed forward, her back to the akuma.

“You guys gotta run, okay? _Run!_ ” she shouted just as the spell hit her.

Her body convulsed as her bones forcibly compacted and elongated in some places. She screamed, in obvious agony, and fell to the ground as her bones conformed to their new arrangement. She did feel a rush of energy fill her, but the pain lingered as the cartilage in her ears and nose grew to accompany her new form. When the transformation ended, her ears were instantly bombarded by screeching and shouting.

“—lix, get up! _Alix! Please!”_ Kim shouted, trying to rouse her.

She clamped her hands over her ears and stood, looking bewildered at the scene before her. It appeared that, to protect the kids and Alix, Kim had decided to wrestle the wand from the witch, which… didn’t appear to be going well for him. Deciding he could use some help, she managed to make her way over to the witch’s legs and bit down. Hard. The akuma shrieked, letting go of her wand on reflex to try and stop the hurt in her leg. Kim made a victorious sound when he snapped the wand between two large fingers just as Alix was thrown off the akuma.

“Oh, you absolutely _rotten_ kids! I hate kids, hate, hate, _hate_ them! You always ruin _everything!_ Now I’ve got to make a new wand, and… ugh! You’ll both pay for this—that transformation was nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if I see you again!” she threatened before fleeing the scene.

They stared after her for a moment before Alix got up, attracting Kim’s gaze. “Are you alright? It—what you went through sounded really awful,” Kim said, concern dripping from his distorted features.

“Aw, you do care!” she replied, laughing a bit. “I’m fine. It sounded like you had it worse, anyways. You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. I guess I can call you anklebiter now, huh?” he asked with a chuckle. Alix scowled and aimed to sock him in the leg, but still unused to her body, she fell forward instead. Kim knelt down and held out his hand, and despite the size difference, Alix took it. When he moved to help her up, he found the movement too powerful, because Alix was launched a few feet into the air. “Oh—sorry.”

“This is gonna take some getting used to, huh? I bet I can learn how to function faster than you!” Alix exclaimed, using one of their rivalry tactics to try and get them adjusted.

“Oh, you’re so on,” Kim responded, happy to have some sense of normalcy remain.

For the next ten or so minutes, the couple worked on figuring out how to move without falling, and with the competitive setting they’d established, it moved pretty quickly while they made their way to the school.

“You know,” Alix started, “we didn’t really think about what Mari and Nino would say when they see us like _this._ ” She grimaced and gestured to their bodies.

Kim opened his mouth to respond, but abruptly shut it when a scream pierced the air. Both him and Alix shared a glance, knowing that it came from the front of the school and that it sounded suspiciously like Marinette. In wordless agreement, they took off as fast as they could, barrelling onto the scene and shouting about who would save their friend.

“Stop!” she called out, “It’s just Nino!”

The words registered at the same time, and they skidded to a stop directly in front of Marinette and a ghostly figure that really did look like Nino.

“Bro. A ghost. Really?” Kim asked, not impressed.

Alix joined in, “What’d you do, throw a sheet over your head and call it quits?”

Both of them burst into laughter, Nino looking affronted and Marinette unamused. The latter tapped her foot until the others stopped laughing, and when they finally did she asked, “How’d this happen to you guys?”

* * *

 

Marinette mulled over the stories of how her friends were affected by the akuma. She was worried when Alix and Kim mentioned her threat to get back at them, and she was worried she wouldn’t be able to fix the situation before then without revealing her identity as Ladybug. To make it harder, the other three refused to leave Marinette, and while she appreciated it, it put her in quite the sticky situation. Then, the cherry on top: her phone was broken from dropping it, and had been crushed when Alix and Kim came running.

Nino must have seen her worrying, because the next thing she knew, she felt his hand phase through her again. She shivered at its coolness, but shot Nino a thankful smile, which he returned.

“Things’ll turn out alright, dude, don’t worry about it so much! Ladybug and Chat Noir will save the day, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’m sure they will,” she replied. _They would, if Ladybug could get away to transform_ , she thought. “But what’ll we do until then? Hiding isn’t really an option with Kim, and they said the akuma was going to come back for them. We don’t have any way to really contact Ladybug or Chat, so we don’t really have a lot of options,” she said as she paced back and forth.

She ran her fingers through her hair, not caring her costume and makeup would be ruined by it or not.

“Guys, chill out, it’ll be fine. If the Sand Witch comes back, we can just break her wand again!” Alix piped up.

“Yeah! We’ve got a better handle on our bodies too, so it should be even easier than last time,” Kim said, sitting down and making the ground quiver beneath them.

Nino nodded along, “Besides, there’s safety in numbers, right, dude?”

Marinette sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought of how to respond. After several minutes in which Alix and Kim had begun to tease each other again, she spoke up and said, “There’s not safety in numbers when you,” she pointed to Nino, “can’t touch anything, you guys,” she gestured to Kim and Alix, “have targets on your backs, and I’ve got nothing going for me. I think we should split up for now and... set a rendezvous point!”

While the others mulled it over, Marinette was already thinking of several places they could meet up, thinking that taking a long route to circle back to the school might be a good way to go. She went to check her phone for the time before remembering it was broken, and estimated the time instead.

“How about… Alix and Kim, you guys go together since you worked well together the first time. Nino and I will go together, and he can act as a scout for me. Our pairs will go separate ways and in about an hour, we’ll circle back to the school if things haven’t been fixed yet. While we’re separated, we can look for Chat Noir and Ladybug and offer our help if need be!” She clapped her hands together when she finished speaking, looking at them expectantly.

Nobody spoke for awhile, considering her plan, but eventually Nino piped up, “That sounds rad, dude. We’re like the gang from Scooby-Doo, all we need now is a talking animal.”

He chuckled at that, and Marinette gave a nervous one as she readjusted the part of her outfit that Tikki hid inside. While she wasn’t exactly an animal, Tikki could definitely fit the role of Scooby in their little group.

“What way are you guys gonna go?” Alix asked, surprisingly—or maybe not so surprising, Marinette thought—not complaining about having to go with Kim.

“You go left, we go right?” Marinette suggested.

“Sounds good!” Alix exclaimed. She turned and grinned at Kim, a mischievous spark in her eyes that had been in his previously. “I’ll race ya!” she said, and started running.

“That’s cheating, ya gremlin!” Kim shouted, chasing after her. Over his shoulder, he called back, “We’ll see you guys later! Stay safe—I dare you!” After that, he put on a burst of speed and caught up to Alix before they rounded the corner.

Marinette turned to Nino and gestured the way they were going to go. “Shall we?”

“Let’s!” Nino said, floating beside her.

The two of them left the school behind, Marinette glancing back briefly to look at her house. Nino noticed her glance, and in an attempt to be comforting, he told her, “I’m sure your parents will be alright, dude. I don’t think the witch actually goes into homes, ya know? Pretty sure she just gets people she catches outside and in costume.”

Smiling at him, Marinette thanked him and continued on, not paying any mind to the fact that she was in costume still. Her eyes scanned the rooftops for any sign of Chat Noir, but she really didn’t expect for him to be out. That left her to try and ditch Nino at some point, as bad as she felt for even thinking it, so that she could transform and put everything back to normal.

As for Nino, he was having a little crisis. He was certain that if he had a heartbeat, it would have gone erratic when Marinette’s smile had been directed at him. And, were he alive, he was sure that his cheeks would have warmed up in the most embarrassing way. He grabbed his ghostly hat and rand his fingers through his hair before replacing it, all the while thinking of his friend. Sure, he’d developed a crush on her a few years back, but that had ended quickly when Alya told him that she was in love with Adrien. Him and her had never gotten together, and he even had it on good authority that Marinette’s crush on Adrien lessened and lessened until it became nonexistent. With that information in mind, Nino couldn’t help but to entertain the possibility of dating her now. As far as he knew, she wasn’t crushing on anyone. And he and Alya were chill after their own break-up awhile back, so it was completely possible that, if he were to crush on her again, she might give him a chance. At least, that’s what he told himself as he caught himself staring at her.

Marinette, unaware of Nino’s thoughts, looked over at him and asked, “Any signs of Chat Noir? I haven’t seen him yet. Uh—and I haven’t seen Ladybug either.” She groaned inwardly at herself for almost forgetting to mention Ladybug. Despite how long she’d had to talk about her superhero self, she still had problems talking about both her and Chat Noir instead of just him.

“I—uh, well, no, dude, I haven’t seen either of ‘em. Maybe they don’t know there’s an ak—”

Nino’s words were cut off by a laugh familiar to him, and foreign to Marinette. She tensed, and fear flickered onto his face. Marinette cursed, and without thinking, she ran from the sound, hoping Nino would follow her.

For awhile, she continued to hear the cackling, but eventually it faded away. She ran down a street that was empty, aside from some people who appeared to be sleeping on the pavement. Now that she thought about it, she’d seen several people along the way that looked to be sleeping as well—all people out of costume. Suddenly the Sand Witch’s name made a lot more sense. At first, Marinette had thought the akuma possessed magic and power over sand. But that wasn’t the case—no, she had magic and the power to make people sleep. She didn’t know for how long they would sleep, but she was suddenly glad she’d disregarded being in costume.

Once she caught her breath, she looked around and saw that, along the way, she lost Nino. “I know I should transform now, but… I don’t have a good feeling about our separation,” she muttered to herself.

Tikki peeked out from Marinette’s costume then, and looked at her chosen with wide eyes. “Marinette, you should transform while we have the chance! Nino will be fine once you purify the akuma!”

“Oh, Tikki, I know, but… I’m really worried. Can’t I retrace my steps to find him first? I’m sure I can get away to transform again, I just have a really bad feeling about this,” Marinette said.

“I trust you to do what you think is best. If you really need to check on Nino, we should go find him as quick as we can.”

“Thanks for understanding, Tikki,” she said, cupping the kwami to her before ushering her to hide again.

Once Tikki was hidden away, Marinette turned back the way she had came and started retracing her steps. While she did so, a bright green light filled the sky, and the cackling of the Sand Witch reverberated across the city. Dread clawed its way through Marinette as she quickened her pace, the green light crackling across the sky and striking down at the earth.

When she ran past an alleyway, she heard a voice call out from it. She backed up and looked for where the voice came from, and she was surprised to find Nino lying on the ground, flickering between his ghostly self and regular self. He groaned in pain as he shifted back to living, and Marinette rushed to his side.

“Nino, what happened!?” she shouted, hands hovering over him in worry, but not touching.

He groaned again, but managed to look at her. “Mari, please, y—you gotta find Ladybug, dude. She—the Sand Witch, she did something a—and it _hurts_ ,” he said, wincing with each syllable.

“It’ll be okay, I—I’m sorry, I should have done this earlier, but I wasn’t thinking, I… I’ll fix this. You’ll be okay, I’ll fix this,” she promised. She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair before saying, “Tikki! Spots on!”

The kwami flew out into the open, giving Marinette an ‘I hope you know what you’re doing’ look before flying into the earrings. Marinette went through the motions of her transformation. When it finished, she cast one last look at Nino and then ran out of the alley, throwing her yoyo with a purpose.

* * *

 

Considering the fact that the green in the sky was focused in at one point, it didn’t take Ladybug long at all to track the Sand Witch down. She had figured out that the green striking the earth was actually striking people who were transformed and refused to help fight against Ladybug and Chat Noir—not that the latter seemed to be showing up. Needless to say, most of the victims of the akuma were writhing or sleeping on the ground, including Kim and Alix, who she’d passed by on her way to the witch.

When she arrived on the scene, the witch cackled in delight and shouted, “Ladybug, how lovely of you to finally join me. Once I get your miraculous, I won’t have to worry about being criticized by brats like you ever again!”

“I have no idea what you’re going on about, but tonight is not your night, Sand Witch. You’ve hurt _innocent people_ , you’ve hurt my _friends_. You won’t get away with it,” Ladybug said, and then she spun her yoyo faster and faster.

When the akuma did nothing but grin in challenge, Ladybug flicked her wrist, and took off when the yoyo grappled onto something in the distance. She swung up close to the temporary villain, releasing the yoyo’s grip so she could make a move to attack and defend.

The akuma was quick to try and use her magic on the hero, but found it lacking and unable to transform her into anything else. She growled in frustration a bit, and switched to trying to get Ladybug to fall asleep. Surely, if the hero couldn’t be transformed into something else, then sleep would have to do. Unfortunately for Sand Witch, Ladybug now had an idea of how she attacked and could avoid them easily. And, thanks to talking with Kim and Alix earlier, she knew that the wand could be snapped. With that information in mind, all she had to do then was figure out what item was possessed.

And, truth be told, that wasn’t hard either. The only item that didn’t match her outfit was a crown of flowers mostly hidden beneath her hat, and if that weren’t odd enough, they were completely purple. Having figured it out, Ladybug summoned her lucky charm and knew exactly what to do with it. She held the mirror out in front of her when the witch cast another sleeping spell, and it bounced right back to the akuma. Sand Witch looked stunned until her eyes slipped close and she began to fall to the ground. Ladybug caught her before she hit, though, and lowered her to the ground.

Taking the flower crown up, she ripped it apart and released the akuma inside.

“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma,” she said, throwing her yoyo out and capturing it as she had done so many times before. When she turned it over and opened it, a white butterfly came out, and Ladybug waved it goodbye. She stepped over the akuma and picked up the mirror she’d let drop, threw it into the air, and watched as Paris was restored to its regular state. She sighed in relief, and went up to the woman who was sitting up in a daze, picking up the flower crown on the way.

“Hey,” she began softly, “I’m not sure what happened, but I really hope everything will be sorted out for you.” Ladybug reached forward and placed the crown back on the woman’s head. “By the way, I think your crown is very lovely.” She backed away and offered a small wave, already spinning her yoyo. With one last look around, Ladybug took to the skies, searching for her friends before her transformation ended.

The first two she found were Alix and Kim, both laughing loudly and bumping into each other in a way that was definitely more than something ‘just friends’ would do. She smirked and continued on until she saw Nino looking around, sheet draped over his shoulders instead of head. Practically forgetting just who she was and whether Nino took note of what she had done earlier or not, she sprung forward and landed in front of him. He looked shocked, and took a step back, but she hugged him before he could move any further, vaguely noting that she could indeed touch him again.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” she whispered into his shoulder. He was tense, but when she didn’t break the hug, even through the beeping of her miraculous, he relaxed and returned it. Eventually, her transformation melted away, and instead of a gasp or Nino pulling back, he held onto her tighter.

“I’m glad you’re alright too, dude. I was worried, ya know? There was no Chat Noir out tonight,” he said, revealing his own fear.

She laughed a little before finally pulling back. “Nino, I’d like to introduce you to Tikki—Tikki, this is Nino.”

Tikki responded before Nino could, and offered him a greeting. When he stuttered out a greeting in return, she giggled and flew back into Marinette’s costume.

“Um… should we go back to the school—Alix and Kim will probably meet us back there,” Marinette said, rubbing her arm in a somewhat shy fashion.

“Yeah, th-that’s a good plan. After you, Mari,” he said, sweeping a bow in true Adrien style. She snorted at the action, but started back to the school anyways. On the way, she remembered that her phone would be fixed now, and took it out to text Alya back.

**[To: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

**[From: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

[Sent at 11:52 PM] _Sorry Alya, phone broke! Nino was an actual ghost thanks to the akuma, and Kim and Alix were an orc and goblin respectively. It was a weird night_

Once she sent the text, she pulled Nino over and snapped a quick photo of them, sending it to Alya.

**[To: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

**[From: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

[Sent at 11:53 PM] _we’re okay now tho_

After that, she put her phone away so that her and Nino could talk on the way back to the school. He asked about Tikki, the transformation process, and a few other things, but the question he kept coming back to was more or less ‘are you sure you’re alright?’ Marinette found it endearing, if she were honest with herself. By the time they made it back to the school, they were laughing and doing shoulder bumps very similar to what Marinette had seen Alix and Kim doing earlier.

Speaking of Kim and Alix, Marinette was quite sure they were holding hands before Nino and her arrived. They’d jumped apart pretty quickly at their arrival, but not quick enough to avoid Marinette’s attention to detail.

The little group hung out for a few minutes before deciding to call it quits for the night, all four of them having enough Halloween for one day. They bid each other goodbye, Kim and Alix walking together, and Marinette winked at Nino as she went into her house, mouthing that they would talk about her secret further at a later time..

**[To: Better Than Gabriel ❤]**

**[From: ❤ Mom Friend™]**

[Sent at 12:13 AM] _girl im soso glad ur ok but... y is nino checkin u out n tht pic?_

**Author's Note:**

> This work was produced as part of a Project Miraculous Ladybug effort. In addition, we would like to thank the following beta readers for making the fic possible: @darkavenue


End file.
